More pillows!

In my studio, I have a basket next to my work table where I collect all the fabric scraps too big to throw away. When that basket fills up, I have the urge to use them. I cut birds and leaves and other assorted things, and spend a week on pillows. Very therapeutic.

I have some new designs in the works, but these leaves and bird designs have been a staple in my Etsy shop this year. It's almost time to move on....

....but I just love making these! I think I'll start making the little bird pillows with a pocket for a tooth fairy pillow. People seem to buy them for baby's rooms, and what a fun keepsake to be able to use it for a few more years.

Maybe I should put a handful of lavender in these? Hmmm...

A Few Favorites of Mine....

My sewing machine is getting tired- so I decided to get out the "good beads" and have a relaxing evening making a few more of my favorite designs. I have to be in the right mind to make these little bird cages. After drilling holes in the bottom, each cage has to be carefully pried open and the vintage glass bird slipped in so the wire goes through the bottom hole- and trying NOT to break off the little tail!

I can never keep these in stock- and I can't take special orders (because you never know if that tail snaps off after working on one forever- then I have to put it all away & start something else!) I just love working with the "good beads". I think tomorrow I'll snap a few picks of my private little stash of vintage glass- I covet the wire embedded birds- Venetian birds from the 40's and 50's. I just found a few more of my little hour glass charms....

...so I'll be making a variation of this design I made last year. About 1 inch tall, the glass timer is filled with real sand and actually turns. I LOVE these!

So, off to my bottle of red, my audio book (because I'm hosting book club Friday & I haven't started the book), and my apothocary jar filled with the "good beads".

what I've been working on.....

Here's a few little linen pillows I made last week- vintage fabric birds appliqued on linen with nests made from stitched linen fibers. I quite like how these turned out...

I found out last week I was accepted in the Art By the Falls show in Chagrin Falls 6/11-12 (yay!!!)- so I've been making some smaller pillows for the show.

I also have spring fever- the weather here in Ohio has been really nice.

My next project I'm just finishing is some totes & new bags made from vintage quilts and barkcloth. More on that next week when I have time to photo them.

Have a great weekend!

Treasury Time

Weekends are busy for Etsy Treasuries! I wanted to share a few of my favorites that include my work. Always honored to be included in these curated collections!

Irish Eyes are Smiling

by DiVaRoCks- features all things Irish green, including my Vintage Applique Leaf Pillow.

Looking for Robins

by whiteoakroom- beautifully serene in shades of my absolute favorite color! I LOVE the enameled necklace by tekaandzoe. Thanks for including my pillow!

We do color well....

by VintageRerun is an explosion of color featuring Cleveanders- including my Tiny Silver Lovebird Earrings.

Take some time to look at these Treasuries & all the wonderful handmade finds.

Tiny Lovebird Earrings

Can you tell I'm ready for Spring? I just added a few pairs of this new design to my Etsy shop. Tiny white gold plated lovebird earrings- each with a different gemstone bead.....

...peridot, lavender jade, red carnelian, and aventurine, with sterling silver

Really simple and sweet- I'm hoping to get more of these birds- stocking up for summer shows. I like that they're not very detailed, very organic looking.

That's what I have to share today.

XOXOXO

Signs of Spring...

Signs of Spring?..... I'm searching! More snow? Ugh!

I can't get enough of robin's egg blue. A few of my favorites to inspire my day! Off to work!

Petite Lovebird Pillows....

A productive days work and new in shop....

new Petite Lovebird Pillows. Made from linen, vintage fabric and buttons, & a little crocheted heart....

...the perfect Valentine for anyone......

Get yours here, here, and here!

Etsy Treasuries.....

Just showing off a few weekend Etsy Trearury lists I was included in. I'm always honored to be included in these artist curated collections. This first one is "Greens and Blues and Browns...Oh, So Pretty!" by trinasclaycreations. You can see the entire collection here- including my Vintage Fabric Lovebird Pillow.

This next collection "Foggy Morning by Monarchdancer" features my new Linen Flower Sampler Pillow. Thanks Monarchdancer- you can see the entire list here.

Lastly, "I love you this much" features my new Applique Valentine Pillow. Thanks magalerie for including me in this lovely collection!

Have a wonderful Monday!

...more Petite Vintage Fabric Birdhouses....

I've had some time to clean my studio over the past week & found a few of my Petite Vintage Fabric Birdhouses. For the past 2 springs I made these in a limited edition & sold them in my Etsy shop.

They are a bit self-indulgent- VERY time consuming to make. They only stand a bout 4" tall, and like so many things I make, people ask "what do you do with it?"

This past spring I told myself I wasn't making any more- but after looking at these this morning I decided I'll make them again this spring.

So come March expect to see a dozen or so on my little birdhouses- all made from scraps from old quilts, mixed with bits of vintage lace, buttons, millinery leaves, etc....

Well I'm off to make a mini art quilt. I just stumbled upon a great tutorial on Jenny Doh's blog Crescendoh- a garden of button flowers. More on that hopefully tomorrow!

...More Vintage Fabric Birdhouses....

See the previous post on my recent discovery of my vintage fabric birdhouses I made last year. This one is my favorite- the roof is covered with vintage buttons and bits, and the red crushed velvet is covered with antique lace. A miniature red chair sits outside on the porch.....

This shabby chic style house features country blue and red florals and toiles, with a vintage drawer pull perch and a lace doily.

Certainly not very practical, but I really love making these....

The yellow house is a bit more formal with a vintage pocket watch dial and antique skeleton key perch. The fabrics on this house aren't vintage- but I like the mix of old and new.

There they are- my lost birdhouses. They are back in their box awaiting spring, when they'll either make nice birthday gifts or the shelves of my Etsy shop.

As I promised my family- no more computer time this week. (just a few sneak peaks!) Lastly, I want to share a Christmas card by the Sisters of Notre Dame. It reads:

WHEN

the song of the angels is stilled,

the star in the sky is gone,

the kings and princes are home,

the shepherds are back with their flock,

THEN

The work of Christmas begins:

to find the lost,

to heal the broken,

to feed the hungry,

to release the prisoner,

to rebuild the nations,

to bring peace among people,

to make music in the heart.

Merry Christmas my friends.

Vintage Fabric Birdhouses...

Funny thing happened today... while I was hiding Christmas presents in the attic I stumbled on this box of vintage fabric birdhouses I made last summer. I was kind-of having a bad day & when I opened this box my heart skipped a beat!

I LOVE making these- all my cherished little vintage fabric scraps & bits, tassels and birds, vintage buttons and shells....

I packed them away after a show I did last summer. It was a successful show- my bags sold well- but nobody "got" these. People asked what you do with them? what are they? Can you use them outdoors? I guess I took it all a bit too personally and packed them away.

I'll post a few more tomorrow (I promised my son I wouldn't spend too much time on my computer this week)

I'm not sure what I'll do with these- they might make it to my Etsy shop, but I might wait until spring.

Well- more tomorrow. After a CRAZY craft show month I'm enjoying doing nothing but catching up on sleep and spending time with the family.

Have a peaceful night....

Vintage Venetian Glass Birdcage Necklaces

New in my shop- the limited addition Vintage Venetian Glass Birdcage Necklaces. The little antique glass birds were made in Venice, on the island of Mirano. These same birds were used to make those really expensive Venetian necklaces.

Tucked safely inside a vintage brass "bird cage", each adorned with amazonite, quartz, peridot, and Korean jade. I'll only be making a handful of these- my little stash of birds is running low. (if anyone out there has more to sell let me know!)

More later on my upcoming holiday show schedule. Can you believe the holidays are creeping up! I've been working away trying to make sure I have enough to sell at 4 big shows this season. More later- I hope you like my little love birds!

New Pillows at Buttermilk Hill

Stephanie from Buttermilk Hill posted this picture of my new pillows on her country porch in central Ohio. I know I mentioned this in a previous blog post- you can now buy my pillows at this new site. Featuring "local, handmade, and vintage goods from the back roads of beautiful Ohio", I'm excited to be part of this new venture.

The site is new and she's still stocking the shelves- but I wanted to start spreading the word. Buttermilk Hill offers free domestic shipping, and their country market features Amish quilts and baskets, rag rugs, painted gourds, my pillows, and much more!

I hope you take the time to have a look!

I'm off to enjoy my Indian Summer day !

Bird Love: Flickr Finds

Today I found one of my pillows featured in this lovely collection of bird inspired designs. Yes- I'm a bird nerd- take a look at the Flickr Bird Nerd group for more inspiration! Thanks Lark Crafts for taking the time to put this together.

(click the links below to see more work from these artists- it's worth your time!)

1. lil-sad-owl 2. Little Bird Quilt 3. spring 4. raven quilt 5. Peacock yarn art 6. Traffic Pattern 7. Vintage Fabric Applique Bird Cage Pillow 8. The Cream and Burgundy Flowers Bird on a Wire Clutch 9. black bird mini with frame

"tweet"

I couldn't resist sharing this adorable Etsy Treasury- a collection of bird themed crafts curated by myartstuduio. Titled "Tweet"- one of my Vintage Applique Bird Cage Pillows is included in this cheerful group. This is just a snapshot- you can see the entire list here.

I'm always flattered to be among such talent- thanks myartstudio!

I have some new applique pillow designs to share this week. I'm working on a cat series, some dogs, and smaller house pillows. A LOT going on & and upcoming shows- more tomorrow! Time to get ready for the first day of school. YAAAAY!

new linen pillows....

Summer Market was a great success this past weekend! After a few days off I'm finally getting around to listing new linen pillows in my Etsy shop. I just listed more of my little Linen Applique Bird pillows in new colors. A lot of people bought these for baby nurseries.....

Starry Night- linen applique house pillow has a pretty sprinkling of "stars" in the background.

Lastly, a few applique leaf pillows. All my linen pillows use recycled vintage fabric- mostly 1940's quilt and feed sack prints.

I'm done with 2 fabric birdhouses that have been in the works for awhile- more on that tomorrow!

artful birds

This beautiful "artful birds" mosaic was created by one of my favorite artists Rebecca Sower. I've been following her blog and creative endeavors for a few years- so you can imagine my excitement when I discovered my linen bird bag in her mosaic. rebecca sower's weblog is an inspiring must read. If you love vintage textiles and details then you'll love her work. You can see the entire mosaic here with artist's info.

Thanks Rebecca!

...a few new pillows...

I have this thing for vintage fabric. I almost never buy new fabric- why should I when there's so much vintage fabric out there just waiting for a new life? I decided to use some of my stash, along with a few recent flea market finds.....

These new pillows are in my Etsy shop- the big Peonies & Birds....

Big Poppies.....

..and this fun Mod Leaf print.

More tomorrow!

Avacado Baby

While She Dreams... featured my Bird Bag in her blog post I Wish...Avacado Baby. Such a pretty blog (LOVE the banner!) with great shopping & crafty finds.

I like the idea of her series "i wish...a series of things i really really want". Thanks A.J.! I'm thinking of doing a similar series of my inspirations.

Off to sew! Have a great Thursday!